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1956 Plymouth Folks

My parents bought their first new car in 1956. I remember my dad saying he paid approximately $3000, a large expenditure for him. But what the hey, it was the '50s and buying a new car was part of the whole thing!

The car is a '56 Plymouth. I don't remember if it was a Belvedere or Savoy. It had the cool and reportedly troublesome pushbutton tranny, with controls on the left side of the dash. We kept it until the mid 60s when it was sold.

Leaving infant me at home with maternal grandparents, they took off on a road trip to my dad's home state of Wyoming to visit his family. I think a big part of the trip was Dad's desire, as a young man, to impress his folks with how far he'd come from their near-poverty in his youth.

In the car for the trip was the man on the left, Dad's dad, and the second and third ladies on the right, being my mom and my dad's mom. The other two ladies are unknown to me. The picture was taken in Guernsey, Wyoming, by Dad, who had an affinity for 35mm camerawork.

Astute posters will recognize my beloved mom from other pictures I have posted. View full size.

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.